9661638

Methods and Apparatus for Signaling User Allocations in Multi-User Wireless Communication Networks

PublishedMay 23, 2017
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

Patent Claims
28 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.

1

1. A method of wireless communication comprising: generating, at an access point, a message for transmission over at least one channel, the message comprising: a first signal field indicative of a length of a first message after the first signal field; and a second signal field indicative of at least one channel assignment, the second signal field having a variable length, wherein the second signal field comprises one or more of a number of stations served and a list of station identifiers, and wherein the at least one channel assignment comprises a bitmap indicating a channel assignment for each station identifier in the list of station identifiers; and transmitting the message to one or more wireless devices.

2

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first signal field comprises one or more of: a duration indication, a size indication for a station identifier, a bandwidth indication, a basic service set color identification, an uplink/downlink flag, a cyclic redundancy check, and a clear channel assessment indication.

3

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second signal field comprises one or more of: a zone type, a zone bandwidth, and a minimum allocation size.

4

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising determining a fixed minimum allocation size.

5

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the at least one channel assignment comprises a multiple of the minimum allocation size corresponding to at least one station identifier in the list of station identifiers.

6

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the at least one channel assignment comprises a multiple of the minimum allocation size for each station identifier in the list of station identifiers, excluding a last station identifier.

7

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bitmap comprises a bit corresponding to each minimum allocation within a zone bandwidth.

8

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein each set bit in the bitmap indicates a channel assignment, of minimum allocation size, for a corresponding station identifier in the list of station identifiers.

9

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein each unset bit in the bitmap indicates a channel assignment, of minimum allocation size, for a station identifier corresponding to a prior bit in the bitmap.

10

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first message is the second signal field.

11

11. An apparatus configured for wireless communication comprising: a processor configured to generate a message for transmission over at least one channel, the message comprising: a first signal field indicative of a length of a first message after the first signal field; and a second signal field indicative of at least one channel assignment, the second signal field having a variable length, wherein the second signal field comprises one or more of a number of stations served and a list of station identifiers, and wherein the at least one channel assignment comprises a bitmap indicating a channel assignment for each station identifier in the list of station identifiers; and a transmitter configured to transmit the message to one or more wireless devices.

12

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the first signal field comprises one or more of: a duration indication, a size indication for a station identifier, a bandwidth indication, a basic service set color identification, an uplink/downlink flag, a cyclic redundancy check, and a clear channel assessment indication.

13

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the second signal field comprises one or more of: a zone type, a zone bandwidth, and a minimum allocation size.

14

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine a fixed minimum allocation size.

15

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the at least one channel assignment comprises a multiple of the minimum allocation size corresponding to at least one station identifier in the list of station identifiers.

16

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the at least one channel assignment comprises a multiple of the minimum allocation size for each station identifier in the list of station identifiers, excluding a last station identifier.

17

17. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the bitmap comprises a bit corresponding to each minimum allocation within a zone bandwidth.

18

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein each set bit in the bitmap indicates a channel assignment, of minimum allocation size, for a corresponding station identifier in the list of station identifiers.

19

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein each unset bit in the bitmap indicates a channel assignment, of minimum allocation size, for a station identifier corresponding to a prior bit in the bitmap.

20

20. An apparatus for wireless communication comprising: means for generating a message for transmission over at least one channel, the message comprising: a first signal field indicative of a length of a first message after the first signal field; and a second signal field indicative of at least one channel assignment, the second signal field having a variable length, wherein the second signal field comprises one or more of a number of stations served and a list of station identifiers, and wherein the at least one channel assignment comprises a bitmap indicating a channel assignment for each station identifier in the list of station identifiers; and means for transmitting the message to one or more wireless devices.

21

21. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the first signal field comprises one or more of: a duration indication, a size indication for a station identifier, a bandwidth indication, a basic service set color identification, an uplink/downlink flag, a cyclic redundancy check, and a clear channel assessment indication.

22

22. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the second signal field comprises one or more of: a zone type, a zone bandwidth, and a minimum allocation size.

23

23. The apparatus of claim 22 , further comprising means for determining a fixed minimum allocation size.

24

24. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the at least one channel assignment comprises a multiple of the minimum allocation size corresponding to at least one station identifier in the list of station identifiers.

25

25. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the at least one channel assignment comprises a multiple of the minimum allocation size for each station identifier in the list of station identifiers, excluding a last station identifier.

26

26. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the bitmap comprises a bit corresponding to each minimum allocation within a zone bandwidth.

27

27. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein each set bit in the bitmap indicates a channel assignment, of minimum allocation size, for a corresponding station identifier in the list of station identifiers.

28

28. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising code that, when executed, causes an apparatus to: generate a message for transmission over at least one channel, the message comprising: a first signal field indicative of a length of a first message after the first signal field; and a second signal field indicative of at least one channel assignment, the second signal field having a variable length, wherein the second signal field comprises one or more of a number of stations served and a list of station identifiers, and wherein the at least one channel assignment comprises a bitmap indicating a channel assignment for each station identifier in the list of station identifiers; and transmit the message to one or more wireless devices.

Patent Metadata

Filing Date

Unknown

Publication Date

May 23, 2017

Inventors

Eric Pierre Rebeiz
Rahul Tandra
Sameer Vermani
Bin Tian

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Cite as: Patentable. “METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SIGNALING USER ALLOCATIONS IN MULTI-USER WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS” (9661638). https://patentable.app/patents/9661638

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